Different serotypes of dengue virus (DENV) imported by Polish travellers from dengue endemic areas to Poland

Background: Dengue viruses are the most widespread arboviruses (transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes), which have shown an unexpected geographic expansion. There are four dengue virus serotypes: DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4. Subsequent infections increase the risk of developing severe dengue fever. Materials and methods: Samples from travellers returning from the endemic area of dengue fever were examined with the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method. Primers amplified 743 bp fragment of the NS5 and 3’UTR genomic region of mosquito-borne flaviviruses of JEV group were used. Results: The sequences from the 10 examined patients were compared to available DENV sequences in GenBank database and the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) results confirmed that the infective virus was DENV-1 (6 patients), DENV-2 (2 patients) and DENV-3 (2 patients). Conclusions: For the first time in Poland, dengue virus serotypes were determined in travellers returning from dengue-endemic areas

An attempt to estimate the minimal number of Poles infected and treated for malaria in Poland and abroad

Background: Malaria is one of the three most dangerous infectious diseases in the world. According to official statistics, there are a few dozen cases in Poland annually while the number of Poles treated abroad or self-treating remains unknown. Poland has been declared to be malaria-free since 1963 and nowadays all cases are imported. The aim of the study is to determine the minimal number of malaria cases in Poles at home and abroad in the last decade. Materials and methods: The medical records of 4,710 patients tested for malaria in the Department of Tropical Parasitology in the years 2003–2012 were analysed. Two spreadsheets were created, which only included people with a history of malaria diagnosed in the reference centre where indirect immunofluorescent-antibody assay (IFA) for Plasmodium falciparum antigen proved positive. The minimum number of Poles who have had malaria at home and abroad was calculated on the basis of positive IFA results; the rate of all treated malaria patients in Poland in relation to those treated in the reference centre and the actual number of Poles with malaria diagnosed at home was calculated. Results: A group of 376 people with positive serologic tests results in indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay with titre ≥ 1:20 were received, including 227 patients with positive serologic results with titre ≥ 1:80. The rate of the overall number of malaria cases in Poland compared to the number of malaria cases in the University Centre for Maritime and Tropical Medicine Hospital was determined as 3.47:1. It was demonstrated that every year at least 174 to 211 Poles staying abroad may suffer from malaria. Conclusions: This is the first attempt to estimate the minimal number of Poles infected and treated for malaria in Poland and abroad. The estimated number is 8–10 times greater than the number of registered cases in Poland.

Fires, vegetation, and human - The history of critical transitions during the last 1000 years in Northeastern Mongolia

Fires are natural phenomena that impact human behaviors, vegetation, and landscape functions. However, the long-term history of fire, especially in the permafrost marginal zone of Central Asia (Mongolia), is poorly understood. This paper presents the results of radiocarbon and short-lived radionuclides (210Pb and 137Cs) dating, pollen, geochemical, charcoal, and statistical analyses (Kohonen's artificial neural network) of sediment core obtained from Northern Mongolia (the Khentii Mountains region). Therefore, we present the first high-resolution fire history from Northern Mongolia covering the last 1000 years, based on a multiproxy analysis of peat archive data. The results revealed that most of the fires in the region were likely initiated by natural factors, which were probably related to heatwaves causing prolonged droughts. We have demonstrated the link between enhanced fires and “dzud”, a local climatic phenomenon. The number of livestock, which has been increasing for several decades, and the observed climatic changes are superimposed to cause “dzud”, a deadly combination of droughts and snowy winter, which affects fire intensity. We observed that the study area has a sensitive ecosystem that reacts quickly to climate change. In terms of changes in the vegetation, the reconstruction reflected climate variations during the last millennium, the degradation of permafrost and occurrence of fires. However, more sites with good chronologies are needed to thoroughly understand the spatial relationships between changing climate, permafrost degradation, and vegetation change, which ultimately affect the nomadic societies in the region of Central and Northern Mongolia.National Science Centre, Poland (Grant no.: 2017/01/X/ST10/01216 and 2018/31/B/ST10/02498); Polish-Mongolian Joint Research Project – “Environmental changes in the Northern Mongolia under recent and past climate variability”. Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 20-17-00110

Kleszcze (Acari, Ixodidae) jako przenosiciele patogenów rozwijających się chorób infekcyjnych i inwazyjnych ("Emerging Infectious Diseases") na terenie Polski

Zawiera także publ. stanowiące podstawę habilitacji.

Symptomatic co-infection with <i>Babesia microti</i> and <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> in patient after international exposure; a challenging case in Poland

The report presents a well-documented case of symptomatic co-infection of Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi in a Polish immunocompetent patient after travelling to Canada and the USA

Symptomatic co-infection with Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi in patient after international exposure; a challenging case in Poland

The report presents a well-documented case of symptomatic co-infection of Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi in a Polish immunocompetent patient after travelling to Canada and the USA

Instrumental Evaluation of Selected Properties of Oil Extracted from Walnuts before and after the Roasting Process

Walnuts (Juglans regia) are characterized by a high fat content of approximately 73%. The oil contained in the nuts is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, including monounsaturated oleic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids, both of the n-3 and n-6 family. One important thermal process for nuts is roasting, which significantly increases their palatability. Technically, roasting is a drying process at high temperatures. The purpose of roasting is to reveal new flavor and aroma properties of the raw material. The aim of the current study was to determine and compare the fatty acid composition and oxidative and hydrolytic stability of oils extracted from both roasted and raw walnuts

Serum ADAMTS-13 Levels as an Indicator of Portal Vein Thrombosis

Background. Coagulation disorders in patients with liver cirrhosis are a common clinical problem. Cirrhosis should be considered a state of impaired blood clotting or an imbalance of the whole coagulation system. Cirrhosis-induced coagulopathy encompasses disturbances in both the procoagulant and anticoagulant systems. This mechanism may promote the development of thrombosis with portal vein thrombosis (PVT), which is considered an obstacle to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). We assessed serum ADAMTS-13 levels in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, with and without PVT. Material and Methods. Serum ADAMTS-13 levels, age, platelet count (PLT), and INR (international normalized ratio) were evaluated in (n=64) patients with liver cirrhosis either with PVT (group 1, n=31) or without PVT (group 2, n=33). The results were compared with those from healthy volunteers (group 3, n=37). Liver cirrhosis was based on Desmet’s classification of chronic hepatitis in liver biopsy stage ≥ 3 or liver elastography F-score ≥ 3. Serum ADAMTS-13 levels were measured with Quantikine® ELISA Human ADAMTS13 Immunoassay, R&D Systems Inc. We used Welch’s F-test, Games-Howell, one-way ANOVA, Bonferroni test, and logistic regression to determine whether ADAMTS-13 levels were a predictor that was independent of MELD and Child-Pugh scores. All results (P<0.05) were considered statistically significant. Results. The mean serum ADAMTS-13 level in patients with PVT was significantly lower than that in patients without PVT (P=0.001) and controls (P=0.001). The mean serum ADAMTS-13 level in patients without PVT was significantly lower than that in controls (P=0.001). ADAMTS-13 levels were significantly associated with PVT accounting for the Child-Pugh or MELD score in the logistic regression model. Conclusions. Low serum ADAMTS-13 levels can be a useful indicator of portal thrombosis in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis irrespective of Child-Pugh or MELD scores. Further research is needed to determine whether ADAMTS-13 levels will find use in everyday clinical practice